Many medical procedures require a patient to lie or sit on a bed. Some medical procedures, such as ophthalmic laser surgery, require a patient to either lie down, and/or sit on a bed during one or more stages of the procedure. For example, prior to ophthalmic surgery, a patient may be prepped for surgery and have his or her eye(s) measured and either while sitting or lying down on a bed. Later, the patient may lie down while undergoing laser treatment for various procedures, such as corneal flap creation, laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK), or capsulotomy and lens fragmentation for treatment of cataract. The patient may also need to lie down during operation procedures such as phacoemulsification, cataract removal, and intraocular lens (IOL) implantation. Following surgery, the patient may lie on the bed to recuperate.
Most beds that are used with surgical laser systems tend to be large and heavy, and fixed onto the system. Hence, they can be cumbersome, and require significant space for storage. Beds that are fixed to the system also add time to the work flow of the procedures, as while one patient is undergoing laser treatment, another cannot get prepped, and/or recuperate using the same bed or system. On the other hand, moving a patient from different beds while undergoing surgery and/or other medical procedure to accommodate the work flow can also add more time to the procedure. Therefore, there is a need for improved systems and methods for patient beds for medical procedures.